(a) Appeal to Office of Hearings and Appeals. When the Authorizing or Denying Official or FOIA Officer has denied a request for records in whole or in part or has responded that there are no documents responsive to the request consistent with § 1004.4(d), or when the FOIA Officer has denied a request for expedited processing consistent with § 1004.5(d) or for waiver of fees consistent with § 1004.9, the requester may, within 90 calendar days of its receipt, appeal the determination to the Office of Hearings and Appeals.
(b) Elements of appeal. The appeal must be in writing, addressed to the Director, Office of Hearings and Appeals, Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585-1615 and both the envelope and letter must be clearly marked “Freedom of Information Act Appeal.” The appeal may be delivered by U.S Mail, commercial delivery service, or by electronic mail to [email protected]. The appeal must contain a concise statement of the grounds upon which it is brought and a description of the relief sought. It should also include a discussion of all relevant authorities, including, but not limited to, DOE (and predecessor agencies) rulings, regulations, interpretations and decisions on appeals, and any judicial determinations being relied upon to support the appeal. A copy of the letter containing the determination which is being appealed must be submitted with the appeal. The appeal should also provide a telephone number, electronic mail address, or other means for communicating with the requester during business hours.
(c) Receipt of appeal. An appeal will be considered to be received for purposes of 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(6) upon receipt by the Appeal Authority. Documents delivered after the regular business hours of the Office of Hearings and Appeals are considered received on the next regular business day.
(d) Action within 20 days.
(1) The Appeal Authority will act upon the appeal within 20 days of its receipt, except that if unusual circumstances (as defined in § 1004.5(d)(2)) require an extension of time before a decision on a request can be reached, the Appeal Authority may extend the time for final action for an additional ten days less the number of days of any statutory extension which may have been taken by the Authorizing Official during the period of initial determination.
(2) The requester must be promptly notified in writing of the extension, setting forth the reasons for the extension, and the date on which a determination is expected to be issued. Notification will be sent by electronic mail, when possible, or by letter.
(3) If no determination on the appeal has been issued at the end of the 20-day period or the last extension thereof, the requester may consider his administrative remedies to be exhausted and seek a review in a district court of the United States as specified in 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(4). When no determination can be issued within the applicable time limit, the appeal will nevertheless continue to be processed; on expiration of the time limit the requester will be informed of the reason for the delay, of the date on which a determination may be expected to be issued, and of his right to seek judicial review in the United States district court in the district in which he resides or has his principal place of business, the district in which the records are situated, or the District of Columbia. The requester may be asked to forego judicial review until determination of the appeal.
(4) Nothing in this part will preclude the Appeal Authority and a requester from agreeing to an extension of time for the decision on an appeal. Any such agreement will be confirmed in writing by the Appeal Authority and will clearly specify the total time agreed upon for the appeal decision.
(e) Form of action on appeal. The Appeal Authority's action on an appeal will be in writing and will set forth the reason for the decision. It will also contain a statement that it constitutes final agency action on the request and that judicial review will be available either in the district in which the requester resides or has a principal place of business, the district in which the records are situated, or in the District of Columbia. Documents determined by the Appeal Authority to be documents subject to release will be made promptly available to the requester upon payment of any applicable fees.
(f) Classified records and records covered by section 148 of the Atomic Energy Act. The Secretary of Energy or his or her designee will make the final determination concerning appeals involving the denial of requests for classified information or the denial of requests for information falling within the scope of section 148 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2168).
(g) Appeal of the denial of expedited processing. Any appeal of the determination to deny a request for expedited processing will be acted on expeditiously.”
[53 FR 15661, May 3, 1988, as amended at 79 FR 22858, Apr. 25, 2014; 81 FR 94920, Dec. 27, 2016]